Solomon Lew’s back in the market for Myer.

As first reported by Street Talk, the rag trader’s Premier Investments was hoovering up Myer stock on Monday, on a day when more than 40 million shares changed hands or about 10-times the four-week average.

Stockbroker Shaw and Partners did the bulk of the trade, offloading stock mostly for institutional investors.

However, it was the buyer that grabbed all the attention.

Fingers quickly pointed to Myer antagonist Solomon Lew, who is already the company’s biggest investor with a 10 per cent stake via his ASX-listed Premier Investments.

Premier Investments is understood to be keen to increase its stake, to once again seek to bring about change at the struggling retailer. It’s expected to be back in the market for more stock on Tuesday.

Myer shares closed down 1¢ to 37¢ on Monday, despite Premier Investments’ buying.

It’s the first time we’ve seen Premier Investments buying Myer shares since 2017, when it nabbed a 10.8 per cent stake in the company via Brent Potts’ Blue Ocean Equities.

Lew, who is Premier Investments’ chairman and major shareholder, has since gone a few rounds with Myer and its board. He failed to take control of Myer’s board in 2017 and 2018, but got revenge when chairman Garry Hounsell resigned hours before the group’s annual meeting last year.

If nothing else, Myer has been a shocking investment for Premier Investments. The group outlaid more than $100 million for its initial 10 per cent stake, while it was worth about $31 million as of Monday’s close.

It’s an interesting time for Premier Investments to resume buying, with the group still three months away from welcoming JB Hi-Fi’s Richard Murray as its new CEO. You would have to think a bid for Myer isn’t top of Murray’s wishlist.

Article source: AFR, 5 July 2021